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Monday, June 30, 2008

It's been a little over 3 weeks since we initially posted about Aimee Mann's show in Greensboro. We now have ticket details for you.

To recap, the show is on September 6 at the beautiful Carolina Theatre in Greensboro. Tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, July 2 via Choice Ticketing. Tickets will be $24.50, $21.50 or $17.50 plus a $1.50 restoration fee added to each ticket.

Check out Aimee Mann performing "Borrowing Time" from @#%&*! Smilers on the Ovation program Live from the Artists Den.

Sunday brought another great concert to Duke Gardens as well as another heavy rain.

Two songs into Bowerbirds' set, the sky opened up and the rain came. Some brave souls stayed out on the lawn during the entire show through the rain while most dashed under the tent as soon as the showers began.

The occasional thunder and sound of the rain seemed to lend itself to Bowerbirds' melancholy tunes. The band played a number of new songs during their set including a debut performance of the song "Chimes."

Friday, June 27, 2008

A show at Disco Rodeo has been bumped down to Lincoln Theatre. Sound familiar? It's happened before. The Wolf Parade show on July 29 is now at the Lincoln Theatre. Wintersleep will still open the show and all tickets will be honored.

Maybe Raleigh is a cursed town for wolf bands. Wolfmother, now Wolf Parade. Maybe the wolves would fare better a little west up I-40 in Tarheel country.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

A ticketholder to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame benefit concert in Cary has lashed out at event organizers for having such a pathetic lineup after boasting the show as the concert event of the year.

Calling their tactics a "bait and switch" someone wrote the following today on the event's message board:

I bought tix the day they went on sale based on a radio show where the chairman of the Rock Hall was going on about the great headliners they had lined up, but couldn't reveal for fear that all the tickets would be snapped up by resellers.

It's been well over a month now, and so far I'm not seeing it. How can this show seriously compare itself to Woodstock, Isle of Wight and Monterey with this weak list of "headliners"?

I'm starting to think we've all been duped into buying tickets for a mediocre show at best.

Hear hear! We've been saying this all along. When the concert was first announced in April, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame trustee, PR firm president and Cary resident Rick French told The Cary News, "This will be one of the bigger music events in the country without a doubt."

At the risk of burning bridges or eating my words later: Bullshit.

The lineup started rolling out (and I started rolling my eyes) a few weeks later. Buck Dharma, Joe Lynn Turner, Steve Luongo and Mark Hitt came first. Then came The Connells and Arrogance along with "emerging artists" Supagroup, Parmalee and Grand Society.

I have no hate for The Connells and Arrogance and think it's nice that they're including local acts in this little shindig, but as for the rest... French says that he and the Hall are "hand picking artists we think are on the cusp of making it big." I'm not holding my breath to see Parmalee on any Billboard lists.

It's high time for Rick French and the event's organizers to show us their cards and name some headliners. And you know what? I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that they don't actually have any big names confirmed and are just stringing everyone along.

What is this, Waynestock and they're all going to stand around on the big day waiting for Aerosmith to pull up in a big white limousine?

Oasis announced yesterday that they will release their seventh studio album on October 6 via their own label, Big Brother. The album will be called Dig Out Your Soul (hopefully the music/album art will better explain the seemingly lame title). The album will be out on October 6 in the UK and other countries, so it will presumably be out on October 7 in the US.

The album was recorded with producer Dave Sardy (who produced the band's last album) at the legendary Abbey Road Studios in London.

The first single from the album will be called "The Shock of the Lightning" (yeah, wow) which will be released on September 29 and will most likely make it's way to the internet and radio considerably sooner than the official release date. Here's what Noel has said about the single:

“If ‘The Shock Of The Lightning’ sounds instant and compelling to you, it’s because it was written dead fast. And recorded dead fast. ‘The Shock of The Lightning’ basically is the demo. And it has retained its energy. And there’s a lot to be said for that, I think. The first time you record something is always the best.”

There are no US dates yet with the exception of the one show in Seattle preceding the band's Canadian tour. That tour will feature none other than Ryan Adams & the Cardinals opening each show.

Cold War Kids are preparing to release the follow-up to their 2006 debut, Robbers & Cowards and have released a video from the studio on their website (don't click enter site to view). The as-of-yet untitled album will be out in September.

Also in September, the band will start touring in support of their new record which will include a stop at the Cat's Cradle on October 20. Tickets for for the show will be $15 in advance and will go on sale this Friday, June 27, at 10AM.

This week's free single starts off with a slow build up that never really pays off. The song is "Black & Gold" from Australian born, Los Angeles residing songwriter/producer Sam Sparro.

The song's got a boring beat, synths and melody, but there is something to be said for Sparro's voice. For being 25 years old, Sparro has managed to channel some of the nuance of old soul singers.

When it's all said and done, "Black & Gold" is a bland dance number, but Sparro definitely has some talent so maybe he'll channel that into some better music because it's certainly not to be found here.

Monday, June 23, 2008

A little bit of rain — OK it was more like a torrential downpour — couldn't keep away Portastatic fans Sunday evening.

The band played to a crowd of about 150 under a pergola at the picturesque Duke Gardens in Durham.

"I felt kind of bad because the preview in the paper or somewhere said 'the nice quiet version of Superchunk,'" Mac McCaughan said. "We're really not that quiet, I apologize."

The band played a handful of songs before the skies opened up and concertgoers, about half of whom had been lounging lazily on the lawn, dashed under the tent for cover.

"That was a nice transition," McCaughan said before inviting people to join the band on percussion for "Sweetness and Light."

Oddly enough, no one seemed to mind the deluge with Portastatic's lush music as a backdrop.

The band played material spanning several Portastatic albums, including "Drill Me," "White Wave," "Noisy Night," San Andreas," "I Wanna Know Girls" and a cover of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," which appeared on Portastatic's EP, Looking for a Power Supply.

The Durham gig was one of only two shows on Portastatic's calendar, the other being at a festival in Alberta, Canada, later this week, but if the showing at Sunday's concert is any gauge, I don't think anyone would complain if they played around here a little more frequently.

The Verve debuted their new single "Love Is Noise" on BBC1 today and now you can stream the song via the band's MySpace page. It's a groovy little pop song that reminds me of the defunct Irish via Boston band Rubyhorse. Check out the song and let us know what you think with a comment.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Merge Records just keeps bringing us great music and now they're gearing up to release The Broken West's sophomore album, Now or Heaven?, on September 9.

After the gritty pop of their debut album, I Can't Go On, I'll Go On, it would seem that the band have filtered out the grit on their new album. Listen to their new song "Perfect Games" (mp3) from Now or Heaven? to see what I mean. I'm not saying the polished sound is a bad thing because "Perfect Games" sounds amazing and is a great song. If this is an indicator for the rest of the album, it's going to be a good one.

Here's the tracklist for Now or Heaven?1. Gwen, Now and Then2. Auctioneer3. Elm City4. Ambuscade5. Perfect Games (mp3)6. House of Lies7. The Smartest Man Alive8. Got It Bad9. Terror for Two10. Embassy Row

Butch Walker has postponed his upcoming tour with Jesse Malin. He sort of explains why on his myspace blog:

Having to postpone completing your record for personal reasons hurts about as much as having to postpone your tour... Yep, I'm gonna have to do my tour later yall... So sorry for anyone who bought plane tickets and made travel plans (I know a lot of you do this and I'm not happy either), but I have to do what's right. I promise, I will make it up to you with an amazing record and all tourdates rescheduled. Thanks for understanding, my friends...

The tour postponement will include the show at Lincoln Theatre on August 17. We'll let you know when that show is rescheduled.

Walker will still play at the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago on August 1 as well as two nights in Atlanta at Center Stage on July 25 and 26.

We just received a two line email from a publicist. Here's what it says.

The Verve Will Release New Record August 19th(Yes, I do mean the legendary band)

We trust this publicist, so we feel inclined to believe the August 19 US release date is fact. The British band have been working on a new album and played the Coachella Festival in California in April. The band also have a series of festival gigs coming up in the UK including a headlining set at Glastonbury.

A few other sites are reporting August 19 as the release date as well. We'll let you know when we know more.

While posting on Monday about Spoon being featured on Daytrotter, I completely missed the fact that Durham band The Physics of Meaning were featured only a few days earlier. The band played four songs for Daytrotter which included an unreleased song titled "Annabelle Lee." The song is an Edgar Allen Poe poem set to music which ends up coming out sounding like a Jeff Buckley song. It's quite good.

The Physics of Meaning just wrapped up a tour on Sunday in Alexandria, VA. The band currently have no shows on their schedule, but bassist Wil Wright will stay busy playing shows in Alexandria and New York with his band Senryu.

Oberst has also announced a big tour to coincide with the album's release that includes a stop at Cat's Cradle (we should all be thankful that Merge Records is in Chapel Hill and all their great artists stop in the area).

Oberst and his band will play the Cradle on August 9, just four days after the album is released. Tickets go on sale this Friday, June 20 via etix.com and will be $25. Oklahoma band Evangelicals will open the show, so it'll be a night of solid music. Check out "Skeleton Man" (mp3 no longer available) from their album The Evening Descends.

The song "Can't Find the Words" is about as generic as they come. The beat throughout the song sounds like the pulled up the first available sound on the drum machine and put a little melody over it and called it a day.

There's nothing exciting or interesting about this song. Downloading this one will be a waste of time unless you're doing it for a kid, cause the lyrics are as bland and as safe as can be.

Raleigh producer and former Little Brother member 9th Wonder has a remix featured on the new Verve//Remixed 4 compilation. The album features remixes of classic songs from the Verve label catalog including songs by Nina Simone, James Brown and Ella Fitzgerald among others. 9th Wonder remixes the classic Roy Ayers song "Everybody Loves the Sunshine."

Check out the Marlena Shaw song "California Soul" (mp3 no longer available) remixed by Diplo and Mad Decent.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Spoon recently recorded a session for Daytrotter which includes their version of Paul Simon's "Peace Like a River." The session also includes "The Ghost of You Lingers" from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, "I Can See the Dude" from Soft Effects and "Back To the Life" from Kill the Moonlight.

Soulful Canadian troubadour Ron Sexsmith has a new album out next month via Haw River's hippest label, Yep Roc. Have a listen to "Brandy Alexander" (download no longer available) from the album, titled Exit Strategy of the Soul. Sound familiar? This is the same song that appeared on Feist's 2007 album, The Reminder. Sexsmith and Feist co-wrote the song after a chance meeting in an Ottawa hotel lounge.

Here's what Sexsmith has to say about his version of the song.

"I didn't really plan on recording a version of my own until I heard her take on it which, by the way, I love. The Feist version is very pretty and sophisticated where as I heard it as more of a drunken sing-along."

Exit Strategy of the Soul will be released on July 9. Pre-order the album here.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

You may have thought we forgot or were just neglecting the opening acts for R.E.M. Tuesday night, but they are so big they deserve their own post.

The National started the show at the not so great time of 6:30 p.m. — made worse due to the fact that many did not realize the start time had changed from 7:30. The band played a great set to a small crowd. The band's music is definitely not suited for daylight or a big amphitheatre of apathetic concert goers, but whether they were appreciated or not, the band played a phenomenal set.

Here's The National's set list:Start a WarBrainyBaby, We'll Be FineSlow ShowMistaken for StrangersSqualor VictoriaRacing Like a ProApartment StoryFake EmpireMr. November

Modest Mouse took the stage next, with Johnny Marr of The Smiths in tow which is still an unreal pairing. The band played an energetic set, which notably didn't include the band's 2004 hit "Float On," but like many bands with hit songs, I'm sure they're sick of it by now.

Here's Modest Mouse's setlist (thanks to Amanda):King RatPaper Thin WallsDashboardEducationHere It ComesDoin' The CockroachTrailer TrashTiny Cities Made Of AshesThe Good Times Are Killing MeThe ViewSatin In A Coffin

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Butch Walker's summer tour schedule was conspicuously missing a date in Raleigh when it was initially announced, causing Triangle fans to cry foul on Butch's Myspace page. Raleigh is a regular stop for Butch who always draws a big crowd to his shows.

Fans can now rejoice because Butch has added a show at Lincoln Theatre to his schedule on Sunday, August 17. The tour is dubbed the One Man Band Tour and Walker has promised to play various instruments on stage during the solo set. How the set will work and what instruments he'll play has yet to be seen though. The tour doesn't kick off until July 6 in Vancouver. Jesse Malin will join Butch on the entire tour.

Tickets for the Lincoln Theatre show will go on sale June 27 at 10:00AM via etix.com. Tickets will be $14 in advance or $17 day of show.

Currently Butch Walker is producing The Films' second album, the follow-up to Don't Dance Rattlesnake. Check out some photos of the band at work Butch on The Films' blog.

Walker just released a new album titled Maya with his band 1969 earlier this year. He recorded it with drummer Darren Dodd and guitar player Michael Chislett. Walker played bass on the record. The album is available on iTunes or Amazon MP3.

And that's not all. Walker also released a live album and DVD earlier this year titled Leavin' the Game on Luckie St. It was recorded live with the Let's Go Out Tonites in his hometown, Atlanta, GA. The DVD is available via Butch's online store. The album, which features 23 tracks, is available via download from iTunes and Amazon MP3.

So as you can see, Butch is a busy fellow and that's how we like it. Check out all of the quality releases above and see you at the show in August.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Fresh off the sold out Hotel Cafe tour, Ingrid Michaelson will be headlining a show at Cat's Cradle on Tuesday, June 17, and we've got a pair of tickets to give away!

We'll make this one easy for you guys — just email us at triangle_music@hotmail.com by 6 p.m. Sunday, June 15 with "Ingrid Tickets" in the subject line and we'll draw one name to win two tickets to the show.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

R.E.M. threw the audience at Walnut Creek Amphitheatre last night a number of curveballs during the set, including the opening song. The band opened with "Harborcoat" from their second album Reckoning.

The set included many older/unexpected songs including "1,000,000," "Find the River," "7 Chinese Bros" among many others. The band announced early in the set that they were going to play a lot of older material in honor of their close ties with the Raleigh area early in their career.

R.E.M. did play a number of songs from their latest album Accelerate (which we dig). "Living Well Is the Best Revenge," "Man-Sized Wreath" and "Houston" made their way into the set. Stipe explained that "Houston" was written about the president/federal government's shameful response to Hurricane Katrina.

That certainly wasn't the only political rhetoric during the show. Towards the end of the set, Stipe said that he was proud to be from the south when North Carolina voted for Barack Obama. Most of the crowd cheered while a small portion were more than a little angry — like the guy next to us who said "fucking Democrats."

While politics came up a few times, the night was really about the music. Michael Stipe's energy level throughout the show was amazing, especially considering he was wearing a suit throughout the entire performance in 90 degree weather. "Welcome to the R.E.M. Weight Loss Plan, 2008," Stipe told the crowd. He bounded around the stage, danced, interacted with the cameras and just looked really happy to be on stage. Mike Mills and Peter Buck both seemed to really connect with the crowd as well. There was an energy on stage that you wouldn't expect from a band that's been together for over 27 years.

During the six song encore the band spanned their entire career, opening with the first single from Accelerate "Supernatural Superserious" before launching into their chart topping 1991 hit "Losing My Religion." Next the band played "Pretty Persusasion" (one of my personal favorites of the night) from Reckoning and then invited Johnny Marr (of The Smiths and Modest Mouse) to play with them on "Fall On Me" from their 1986 album Life's Rich Pageant.

The special guests didn't end there though. The band brought out local music legends and former R.E.M. producers Mitch Easter and Don Dixon to play on the classic song "Sitting Still" from R.E.M.'s debut album Murmur. Easter and Dixon produced and engineered the band's first two albums which were recorded at Reflection Sound in Charlotte. It was a memorable moment seeing all of these guys together on stage (but not quite as cool as Bill Berry showing up 2003. I'm sorry I missed that one).

The band closed with "Man On the Moon," a big hit yet not the best closer. It was entertaining to watch Michael Stipe do his Elvis impersonation over and over each time Elvis is mentioned in the song.

In the end, I left the venue blown away by R.E.M.'s performance. They are truly one of the great bands to emerge from the south.

[photo by Amanda Parrish]

Here's the complete setlist from the show:HarborcoatLiving Well Is the Best RevengeBad DayWhat's the Frequency, Kenneth?1,000,000Man-Sized WreathWelcome To The OccupationAccelerate7 Chinese Bros.Hollow ManImitation Of LifeHoustonElectroliteWalk UnafraidThe One I LoveFinal StrawFind The RiverLet Me InHorse to WaterAuctioneerOrange CrushI'm Gonna DJ----------Supernatural SuperseriousLosing My ReligionPretty PersuasionFall On Me (w/ Johnny Marr)Sitting Still (w/ Mitch Easter & Don Dixon)Man On The Moon

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

So after the UK styling of The Wombats, iTunes reverts to it's old ways. This week single is four minutes of bubblegum country pop from Whitney Duncan called "When I Said I Would."

All in all, it's not a bad song, but the production style is stereotypical of most modern country music. We have producers John Shanks (Vertical Horizon, Sheryl Crow, Bon Jovi) and Mark Bright (Carrie Underwood, Sara Evans, Lonestar) to thank for the bad production. Everything they touch comes out overproduced.

So, if you're a modern country fan, you'll probably like the song and I won't fault you for it. As for me, the song's about to get deleted.

Sunday, June 08, 2008

Check out the brand new Dr. Dog song "The Old Days" (click to download) from their new album Fate, not to be confused with "My Old Ways" from their last album We All Belong. Fate will be released on July 22 via Park the Van Records.

Saturday, June 07, 2008

More on Aimee Mann. She's extended her @#%&*! Smilers tour into the fall and will stop at the historic Carolina Theatre in Greensboro on September 6. There are no details yet on tickets, but we'll let you know as soon as we know.

Thursday, June 05, 2008

Like music? And free stuff? Then Annuals have just the contest for you.

Raleigh band Annuals has just embarked upon its summer tour, which will end at Carrboro's Arts Center on June 21. The group is running a contest in conjuction with their new EP, Wet Zoo,where fans can win a pair of tickets to the Arts Center show along with a one year membership to the Arts Center.

Unfortunately, The Gutter Twins/Ed Harcourt show we posted about last week has been postponed until the fall according to the Cat's Cradle's website. We'll update you as soon as we have the details for the new date.

Introspective songstress Aimee Mann released her sixth album (not counting the Christmas album or 'Til Tuesday) on Tuesday and as always, the album is great. The album is called @#%&*! Smilers or Fucking Smilers as it is properly dubbed.

The album is sonically different than her previous works, mostly because there are no electric guitars on the album. Aimee Mann and her bass player Paul Bryan (who also produced the album) decided to let piano, synths, other keys, strings and horns fill out the sonic space usually filled with electric guitars. She really pulls it off and delivers a batch of songs that are as good as any she's written before.

Watch Aimee Mann, Paul Bryan and keyboard player Jamie Edwards play seven songs on the KCRW program Morning Becomes Eclectic. Aimee also talks to host Nic Harcourt about the new album and her annual Christmas tour among other things.

The set includes:FreewayThirty One TodayPhoenixThe Great Beyond(interview)Borrowed TimeLittle TornadoColumbus Avenue

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Charleston band Slow Runner played a great set Sunday night at the Pour House in downtown Raleigh. The band played songs from their 3 albums including their newest disc, Mermaids, which you can download here . Check out some photos below.

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

The Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. will release his second solo album, ¿Cómo Te Llama?, on July 8 via RCA Black Seal Records. Check out the first song from the new album, "GfC" (click to download).

Albert Hammond, Jr.'s first solo album, Yours To Keep, was a great indie-pop record which rivals The Strokes music. That album made it clear that his songwriting talent is/was being overlooked by The Strokes, who last released an album in January 2006. I say as long as Albert Hammond Jr.'s going to keep releasing great albums, The Strokes can stay on hiatus as long as they want. Strokes bassist Nikolai Fraiture has said that the band will begin to work on new material soon.